Water Buffalo are the pinnacle dangerous game animal on the Australian continent and walk and stalk with the bow, they prove to be a worthy advisory, and an adventurous hunt for any bowhunter.

The Buffalo were introduced in the late 19th century by settlers on the north coast of Australia as a source of meat and as a beast of burden. But when the settlements were abandoned around 1949, the buffalo spread and established through the northern floodplains.

The Water Buffalo tips the scale shoulder to shoulder with its African counterpart the Cape Buffalo, but with no natural predators on the continent they are not quite as weary as the old dugga boys. They are however big, cunning and dangerous. The thick hide and heavy flat ribs protecting the engine room, and the unforgiving wild area they inhabit make it a very challenging big game bowhunt which requires good preparation both mentally and in ones choice of equipment.

Over the last several years guiding Water Buffalo safaris in Australia’s Northern Territory, I’ve compiled some rough pics, field notes and observations that I hope will be of some use to anyone interested in bowhunting the bulls of the far north.I don’t claim the following pics to be 100% correct, more so I intend them to be a good first hand insight and guide to Water Buffalo shot placement and anatomy.

The bread and butter shot is the Broadside or Slightly Quartering away. Preferably head forward and feeding. “Straight up the front leg, half way up the animal”. It’s easy to calculate and gives you the most room for error.

You can tuck the shot in tighter to the triangle (putting you just above the heart) but it’s really no more effective than a solid double lung hit and you risk contact with the heavy front leg bones.

The are a few things to be careful of when taking this shot:Actual angle.

The Buff are a big slab and can be very deceiving. It’s often difficult to see if it’s truly slightly quartering away, perfectly broadside or slightly quartering on. With such a big neck the animal’s whole torso can move when it moves its head. For example a broadside Buffalo that has its neck and head turned and looking at you, will make its chest slightly quarter towards you. So you need to look carefully at the true angle.

Take a look at this pic, this Bull is ever so slightly quartering on. It’s a good shot but you have to be aware that your arrow will be slightly angling back on the far side. The reason I point this out is it’s important you make a double lung hit.

Here is the slightly quartering away shot. Good shot to take, but I don’t like it to be any more quartering away than this bull. See the near side leg is back and also note its head and neck position, the ribs are going to be crunched up tight together as a result.

The Most common Error I see with the above broadside and slight quartering away shots is hitting too far back, too low or both!

On a broadside bull you just can not afford to hit him back. The guts come all the way right up behind the front shoulder so if you are even 4″ or more back from the “crease” and low, there is a good chance you may lose your bull.

Now I’ve seen time and time again some quartering away shot problems… The angle is great for most game but I do not believe it to be a good shot on Buffalo. So much so I will not take a quartering away shot myself. I’m not saying it can not be done but I certainly don’t recommend it.

It comes down to two things, the steep angle of the big flat ribs and broadheads “skidding” and “deflecting” off them.I’ve seen it many times and because we are obliged to shoot wounded bulls with the back up rifle it means we can take a look and see what went wrong.

This is also where I’ve seen a lot of broadheads fail. That angled impact really puts a lot of pressure on the broadhead and front of the arrow. I’ve seen tips curling or the adapter bending right behind the head, resulting in a deflection off the ribs and a wounded Buffalo.Next is a Mid size Buffalo Bull..Standing.We set it up to give a more realistic position for testing, so the bone and vitals are in the natural position.

Ribs

The gap between the ribs when standing facing forward is as thick as your index finger.

I’ve always had a keen interest in testing gear out in the field (in real hunting situations). As a bowhunter there are no two situations ever exactly the same when hunting and some things are still uncharted waters when it comes to big game and the new specialized gear that is at our fingertips today.

Doing this ground work gives me a better first-hand understanding of the animal so I can become a better hunter, avoid wounding animals unnecessarily and give better advice to those hunting with me or those wanting to hunt.

I’ve seen a wide range of set-ups kill buffalo.From as low as 60lb Trad bows through to 80+ lb Compounds.Arrows as low as 500grs through to 1000grs plus.So it can be done with a wide range of gear.But it comes down to the individual, his limitations, taking the right shot at the right time, a bit of luck etc…There is no “one size fits all” with hunting set-ups, but I try avoid the “it’s enough” or “it could work under the right circumstances” approach.With big game it should be as good as you can personally get it and a big game set-up or any bowhunting set-up for that matter is about finding a balance.How much bow weight, arrow weight and the broadhead type depends on what the individual can handle and do so “accurately” and with total confidence in your ability and equipment.

“Your set-up is only as good as the weakest part within it” Don’t spend big $ on the safari of a lifetime and big $ on all your gear only to go and put a broadhead that has failed someone before on the front of your arrow.

Notes on Shots

The broadside shot…. its pretty rare to slip one through the ribs and it’s unrealistic to hope for that to happen…90% of the time you will be hitting a rib, so the set-up needs to be able to punch through a big rib, and the broadhead needs to be able to handle that heavy bone without failing.

There has been a lot of info on what works and what does not so do your research, choose your gear carefully and prepare properly. Don’t get sucked in by advertising and if you take advice, try take it from someone that has actually killed a few buffalo.Plan B - “the front on shot”

This has been on my mind for years with buffalo but I had to wait until I really had a good understanding of taking this shot before I went ahead and tested it out thoroughly.

I know it is not a shot many take on game, and it’s not a shot I look for on game like deer and for valid reasons. But, it is an option.That “option” is yours to decide. For buffalo it’s an option I recommend you consider.

All I will do is show what I have found.

Buffalo don’t jump the string, even if looking straight at you when you release.

Buffalo are curious. It is not uncommon for a buffalo to move closer to you to get a better look.A smart bull will circle down wind and then it’s game over but others will move straight towards you, especially if you are well concealed.

You can “call” a Buffalo in under the right circumstances through noise and motion.

A calf distress call can be very effective, but I only use that as a last resort as it will put the bull on edge to danger.Flapping the hat is the most common way to get a buffalo in. The set-up has to be right, you have to be low to the ground and preferably 80% concealed, that way you are nonthreatening and the bull has to move closer to see what you are.Height is threatening to buffalo. The higher you are the more threatened they will be.We’ve pulled buffalo in from as far as 150m using these methods.

One thing to consider with this shot is that the bull is looking at you and knows exactly where you are.

But you have NO bone to penetrate if you hit it right, and your realistic kill zone is not much smaller than the broadside shot.You get the “long cut” though the vitals.You have veins and arteries close under the neck, then over the top of the heart, down the length of the lungs, and you cut through the diaphragm. 20″ of penetration will get you all the way to the start of the guts.

Center of Mass is what you want here. Middle of the chest, half way up the body.The buffalo have chest and throat markings that can be used as a guideline for shot placement.You want your arrow between these two lines.

One thing to be aware of is the huge long neck.Head position must be right for taking this shot.Low, Mid and High head positions are what you will get, the low head position offers no shot. It covers the area you want to hit.The mid head position means you will have to go through more neck before getting into the chest. The high head position requires less penetration to get into the vitals.

Most of the time this shot will be under 25m.*Note, high head position and chest and throat markings.

Here is a Video of the front on shot. This is the buff I actually killed with a recurve, you can see in the video where I hit it. My shot was a little to the side but still killed the bull. But where this arrow goes is the “sweet spot”

Latin name: Bubalus bubalis Height: 64 inches...... Weight: 1500-2500 pounds.... Horns: both male and female.Hunting season: Year Round.Hunting difficulty: 4 ( 1 easiest - 5 tougher )Minimum bow and arrow set up requires: KE of 65 ft lbs. Arrow above 700 grains.Recommended Draw Weight: minimum of 65#.Broadheads: No restrictions. Only 2 fixed blades. ( check reviews for further info ) Tips/Comments: The water buffalo is an animal that under any circumstances except a well placed shot, their heavy bone structure and massive musculature protects them so well that a bad shot or using the wrong bow & arrow set up, will just wound them and turn them into a huge, mad animal. As you may imagine is not easy to reach the vitals of this big and tuff animals… Many years of experience doing this kind of hunt and a lot of field and penetration tests have made us gather a lot of data to determine which bow, arrow and broadhead setups are best to get good results hunting them.